On Sept.15th, 2007 I had
the honor and privilege of speaking at the
Spotsylvania Presbyterian Church's Men's
Ministry Breakfast. The overall theme of
my presentation was "Faith under Fire" and
this talk was a prelude to the church's
new 'Discipleship Challenge' program that
was starting for the fall. Beginning with
a short commentary on Civil War memory, I
then presented the definition of a
'disciple' followed by six Christian
stories of varying degrees of
discipleship. The transcripts are
below:

SLIDE: TITLE

First off, I want to thank
John for inviting me here today and Stan
for assisting with my PowerPoint. It is
truly a privilege to speak to you guys and
I hope to make it worth your while. This
presentation in particular is very special
to me, as I finally get an opportunity to
speak at my own church. The food was
great, thank you Peter, and the fellowship
with you all is truly a blessing. I can't
think of a better reason to be up this
early on a Saturday morning.

I do a few of these talks
on religion and its role in the Civil War
for various history and heritage groups.
One is titled 'For God and Country' and
focuses on the bio of Stonewall Jackson.
Another one is called 'Christian Cavalier'
and presents the spiritual life of JEB
Stuart. I also speak about what I call the
"double-edged sword of theology" in war
and how faith can be perverted for the
justification of atrocity. This of course
can be seen in the state of Islam over in
the Middle East.

This time however, I
wanted to do something new that fit the
upcoming 'Discipleship Challenge' theme.
After talking to Stan about the fall
program that is starting here at SPC, I
tried to come up with some stories of
people that practiced discipleship-like
qualities during the War Between the
States. So I went back through my stuff
and selected a few of my favorites. I've
chosen to call this one… 'Faith Under
Fire: Discipleship during the Civil
War.'

Now all of the people that
I'm speaking of today are featured in my
upcoming devotional "The Southern Cross,"
which I will shamelessly plug at the end
of my presentation. I've also figured in
time for questions so if you have any,
please save them until I'm finished. I'll
stay as long as you like.

Some of these people that
I'll be talking about today will no doubt
be familiar to you. Others may not, but
the one bond that ties them together is
the fact that they were all believers.
Some were saved long before the war, some
long after. All of them started out as
ordinary people, just like you and I, who
later became extraordinary during the
direst of times in our country's
history.

Just out of curiosity, by
a show of hands, how many
native-Southerners and how many
transplanted-Northerners do we have here
today? I'm originally from Western PA
myself. OK, Great. I made a point of
trying to put together something for both
Yanks and Rebs, so it's good to have some
balance here today.

As you know this war
remains a very controversial and personal
event in our nation's history, even to
this day. After all, we can't even seem to
agree on what to call it. It's been
referred to as The Civil War, War Between
the States, Fight for Southern
Independence, War of Northern Aggression,
the Great Divide, and my personal
favorite, the Late Unpleasantness.

Whatever you call it this
war killed more Americans than all of our
other wars combined. Over 620,000 people
died in this conflict. It was a war unlike
any other in our nation's history. You had
brothers killing brothers, citizens under
the same flag, families with the same
heritage, and the same God. It was a
terrible time to say the least. Imagine
your relatives or neighbors suddenly
becoming 'the enemy.'

SLIDE: FREDERICKSBURG
(NOW)

It's far too easy for us
to look back today, especially here in our
little piece of Central Virginia known as
the "Crossroads of the Civil War," and
forget the carnage that took place here.
People come from all over the word to tour
our hallowed grounds. And when they get
here, everything is perfect. The grass is
neatly trimmed and the markers are
polished. The freshly painted cannons are
all lined up neatly. Yet they are standing
in the 'shadow of death.'

SLIDE: FREDERICKSBURG
(THEN)

Can you imagine the stench
of rotting men and horses, or the millions
of flies that littered the air? Try to
picture the nightmarish scenes that were
witnessed by the townsfolk following the
battle. So the next time that you find
yourself touring one of these
postcard-pretty places, remember that
although our local National Parks appear
romantic, the war that took place on them
was anything but that. I've been obsessed
with battlefields since the age of 7, and
I am just now starting to realize the
harsh realities of them.

Still in the middle of all
this death and destruction, in the midst
of all this ugliness were countless
examples of God's glory. War brings out
the worst in people and the best in
people. Christianity after all is the
one-true religion that is founded on the
premise of doing good unto others, not
ourselves. It's one of the few faiths
today that is not self-serving. So here
are some examples of God's grace and
providence that he's blessed us with, and
how we can choose to use it. I'll be
sharing 6 disciple-stories with you. Some
from the North and some from the South.

I also wanted to give you
something with a little more substance
than just a straight Civil War speech, so
I have also included some associated
Scripture passages with each subject for
you to reflect on. These are my versions
of Pastor Alan's 'Covenant Connections.' I
have handouts here if you like, and I'll
be posting them with the transcripts on my
web site later this week.

Let's start by asking what
is a disciple?

DISCIPLE DEFINITIONNow for those of you who
don't know me, I don't like anything that
was made after the turn of the century, so
I went back to an old copy of Easton's
1897 Bible Dictionary. According to Easton
the definition of a 'disciple' is:
Disciple (n): A disciple of Christ is one
who: (1) believes His doctrine (2) rests
on His sacrifice (3) imbibes [receives]
His spirit (4) imitates His example.

Sounds pretty simple. So
how does one become a 'disciple?'

DISCIPLESHIP TRAITSI call these the 'Building
Blocks of a Prayer Warrior:'

FAITH: Believe in the Word of
GodCOURAGE: Take strength from itHUMILITY: Humble yourself before
HimWITNESS:
Share the 'glory of His story'SERVICE: Use
your time and talentsMERCY: Be
kind and live by example

Please keep that list in
mind as I go through these individual's
stories.

SLIDE: FATHER
CORBY

First up today, I want to
talk about a man who truly had the 'Luck
of the Irish.' This gentleman was not a
soldier, but a chaplain from the Union
Army who is probably the most famous
priest not only of the Civil War, but of
this entire period in history. His name is
Father William Corby. For those of you who
have been to Gettysburg, you may remember
a statue of a man that stands a few
hundred yards from the large Pennsylvania
Monument. That's him.

Now according to Catholic
doctrine, one of the most important duties
that a priest performs is administering
the sacrament of "Last Rites," which is a
form of absolution from sin that is given
to a dying person. During wartime, men
will obviously fall on the battlefield,
mortally wounded and without the benefit
of having a priest nearby. In order to
compensate for this absence, Catholic
chaplains would perform a universal form
of this sacrament prior to the battle.
This service was extremely important to
brigades that were made up of strict,
traditional Catholic immigrants such as
the Irish and German contingencies.

Just as the Protestant
soldiers would gather for a service prior
to engagements, the Catholics would hold a
mass and sometimes they would even take
Communion.

Perhaps the most
courageous of these was the Union Army's
"Irish Brigade," who deployed with the
priest. The good Father extended general
absolution to all soldiers, Catholic and
non-Catholic alike. He was also known to
administer Last Rites to those dying on
the field, while under fire. Prior to the
conflict in the Wheatfield, on the second
day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Father
Corby offered general absolution to the
Irish Brigade. He probably did the same
before their disastrous charge here in
Fredericksburg in December of the previous
year.

As I mentioned, his statue
stands at Gettysburg where he held an
impromptu mass for the Irish just before
they plunged into battle. Despite the loss
of 506 of their men during that day's
fight, one soldier stated that, because of
Father Corby, he felt "as strong as a lion
and had no fear," although his comrade was
shot down beside him.

After the war, in 1865,
Father Corby returned to Notre Dame where
he was made vice president. Within a year,
he was named president and at the end of
his term at Notre Dame in 1872, Father
Corby was sent to Sacred Heart College. He
returned to Notre Dame as president in
1877, where he became known as the "Second
Founder of Notre Dame" for his successful
effort in rebuilding the school's campus
following a devastating fire.

In a book of his
recollections entitled "Memoirs of
Chaplain Life," Father Corby wrote: "Oh,
you of a younger generation, think of what
it cost our forefathers to save our
glorious inheritance of union and liberty!
If you let it slip from your hands you
will deserve to be branded as ungrateful
cowards and undutiful sons. But, no! You
will not fail to cherish the prize-- it is
too sacred a trust-- too dearly
purchased."

Father Corby was a
shepherd for Christ who showed courage
through his faith, a courage that spread
throughout the ranks of his flock. When he
died in 1897 and as he was being buried,
surviving veterans of the Federals' Grand
Army of the Republic sang this song:
"Answering the call of roll on high.
Dropping from the ranks as they make
reply. Filling up the army of the by and
by."

Now when I hear them say,
'filling up the army' I think of him
filling their spirits up with hope, faith,
and the promise of salvation. Father Corby
was certainly strong, and his faith led to
others coming to Christ. In other words he
lived as a disciple and in turn, created
more disciples, both on the battlefield
and off.

KJV VERSES: FATHER CORBY
(FAITH)

By whom we have received
grace and apostleship, for obedience to
the faith among all nations, for his
name: (Romans
1:5)

Only fear the LORD, and
serve him in truth with all your heart:
for consider how great things he hath done
for you. (1 Samuel
12:24)

And his name through faith
in his name hath made this man strong,
whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which
is by him hath given him this perfect
soundness in the presence of you all.
(Acts 3:16)

SLIDE: JEFFERSON DAVIS

Next up is a guy you'll
all recognize. Every road in the Old
Dominion is named after him. Of course
this is the one and only Jefferson Davis.
Now J.D. is one of those guys who most
people remember incorrectly. He did not
'officially' volunteer for the position of
president in the Confederate States. He
was nominated and later appointed. In
fact, there is a story on his History
Channel bio that tells of a messenger
riding up and informing him that he was
just made president.

Now from what I
understand, Davis did not necessarily want
the job at first, but he took it as he was
a man of duty. He had been what most
historians today consider to be the
greatest Secretary of Defense in the
history of America. At the time the
position was called the Secretary of War.
Davis established many of the roots of the
Department of Defense that we have today.
He revolutionized the navy, weapons
development and defense contracting. He
developed new tactics to go with the new
weapons and was a tremendous leader.
Unfortunately, he would not have the same
success as the CSA's President.

On a side note, if you
ever have a chance to go down to Richmond
and visit the Confederate White House,
which was Davis' during the war, do so. It
is a magnificent residence to say the
least and although it is completely
engulfed in urban sprawl, the exterior and
interior of the building is
breath-taking.

Anyway back to Davis. Now
he was a protestant, a man of humble
origins, who began his formal education at
a small, one-room, log cabin school in the
back woods of Mississippi. (similar to his
counterpart U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
from Illinois.) Two years later, his
family moved and he entered the Catholic
school of Saint Thomas at St. Rose Priory,
which was operated by the Dominican Order
of Kentucky.

At the time, Davis was the
only Protestant student in the entire
institution, but his own acceptance, as
well as an introduction to a different
denomination, made a lasting impression on
the Episcopalian.

Later, as a West Point
graduate, Davis prided himself on the
military skills he had gained in the
Mexican-American War as a colonel in a
volunteer regiment and as U.S. Secretary
of War under President Franklin Pierce.
After rising to the highest chair in the
newly established Confederate government,
Davis made a concerted effort to bridge
the spiritual and social gaps between
citizens of different faiths.

During the 19th Century,
Catholics and Jews were often held in
contempt and discriminated against by the
country's Protestant majority. President
Davis did not share this sentiment and
following his appointment to power, he set
a precedent when he assembled the first
administration in American history that
integrated Protestants, Catholics and
Jews. This included his Secretary of
State/ Secretary of War/Attorney General:
Judah P. Benjamin (Jewish) and Secretary
of the Navy: Stephen R. Mallory
(Catholic).

Davis' unorthodox and
courageous decision went against all
previous political practices and
ultimately sent shockwaves through all of
the county's governing bodies, as not even
his contemporary, Abraham Lincoln, had
appointed anyone other than Protestants to
a high office.

In his article 'Jefferson
Davis, Religion and the Politics of
Recognition,' D. Jason Berggren stated
that, "Davis practiced the politics of
recognition by appointing individuals
identified with persecuted religious
minorities. In this regard, contrary to
conventional wisdom, Jefferson Davis was a
remarkable president, a president ahead of
his time."

In the end, Davis was
simply a disciple who respected other
Christian-Judea faiths and gave them
legitimacy in the community that he
governed. He once said, "Never be haughty
to the humble; never be humble to the
haughty." Haughty of course meaning
arrogant.

This kind of humbleness
and acceptance of fellow Christians of
different theologies bred a fellowship
that spread among the southern states. It
took guts for Davis to do that and our
politicians today seem more bent on
dividing the country's believers instead
of bringing them all to the table. His
choice was very risky and very unpopular,
but it was the right thing to do. So
although he 'lost' the war and the
country, Davis did have a positive impact
on the citizens around him.

Washington could certainly
use a lesson in discipleship. Believe me.
I spend all my time studying the
Confederacy and have really come to accept
that the United States government has
never really been 'for the people' or 'by
the people'. Instead of bringing people
together, they always seem set on driving
them apart in order to further their
agenda.

KJV VERSES: JEFF DAVIS
(COURAGE)

Watch ye, stand fast in
the faith, quit you like men, be
strong. (1
Corinthians 16:13)

Arise; for this matter
belongeth unto thee: we also will be with
thee: be of good courage, and do
it. (Ezra 10:4)

And Joshua said unto them,
Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and
of good courage: for thus shall the LORD
do to all your enemies against whom ye
fight. (Joshua
10:25)